


Chase the shadows away

by tiffanytheweirdo



Category: NCIS
Genre: Ellie Bishop Needs a Hug, Established Relationship, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Nick is there to give her one, Nightmares, Soft Nick Torres
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:20:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24318724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiffanytheweirdo/pseuds/tiffanytheweirdo
Summary: Ellie needed Nick, so she ran through the night of rain to what she needed.Title inspired by the song “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” By ABBA.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 16
Kudos: 43





	Chase the shadows away

**Author's Note:**

> This is a h/c idea I needed to get out a week ago for my own sanity haha
> 
> The quote by the end of it is by euesworld on Tumblr. Check it out at https://euesworld.tumblr.com/

Nick woke at the sound of someone knocking on his front door. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table, 3:39 am.  
Groaning sleepily, he got off his bed and grabbed a shirt to put on.  
Arriving at the door, he peeked through the fish eye to see how's on the other side of the door at this ungodly hour. And he was surprised.  
It's Ellie who's standing outside his apartment, arms wrapped around her soaked frame and shivering. Nick never thought Ellie looked this small.  
Nick quickly opened the door with a confused frown on his face and pulled his girlfriend in without asking any questions.  
"Nick-" Ellie was trembling, face wet with both rain and tears.  
"Shush Ellie, let's dry you up and get you warm first. We can talk later" Nick cut her off and wrapped an arm over Ellie's shoulder guiding her into his bedroom, not minding the rain on her soaking through his thin shirt.  
Sitting Ellie on his bed, Nick wrapped a throw blanket around Ellie's small figure before bending down to help her tug off her shoes.  
"I'm gonna run you a bath okay?" Nick asked, kissing her on her forehead as he standing back up.  
Nodding, Ellie bunched up the blanket in her hands and hugged it tighter to herself, hoping to get some more warmth. She was still shaking, not sure was it because of the chilled that had settled in her bones or was it because of the nightmare shaking her hard.  
"Come on Ellie" Nick reappeared from the en-suite a moment later, pulling Ellie out of her thoughts.  
Standing up from the bed on her wobbly knees, Ellie dragged her feet and crossed the room.  
Entering the bathroom, Ellie's hands dropped limply from where she's holding the blanket and let it fell onto the group.  
Nick's heart ached at how empty and unsettled Ellie's eyes were, the usual spark wasn't in there.  
"Do you need me here or do you need space?" Nick asked softly, lifting a hand to brush a strand of Ellie's blonde locks out of her face.  
"Stay please" Ellie whispered, ducking her head as she felt another wave of emotion rushing through her.  
"I gotcha okay?" Nick tilted Ellie's head up and looked right into her eyes, trying to covey her all the love he held through his eyes.  
Ellie's lower lip trembled, her heart beating fast ass she nodded at Nick's simple yet powerful words.  
Nick kissed her forehead again before helping her undress and into the warm bath awaiting.  
Ellie sighed contentedly as warmth engulfed her. Curling into herself, Ellie hugged her knees to her chest as Nick sat down on the floor by the tub.  
"Ellie? Did you walk all the way over here in the rain?" Nick asked softly, wanting to know what happened.  
Ellie blushed, she wasn't thinking just now. The need to see and make sure Nick was alright overwhelmed and overrode her.  
"I uh... I wasn't thinking" Ellie looked down at her fingers drawing absentminded patterns on her knees, avoiding eye contact with Nick.  
"Hey, you can tell me anything" Nick reached over and interlocked his fingers with Ellie's, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze.  
"I know" Ellie sniffled, swallowing hard as she tried to get rid of the lump in her throat.  
"Take you time baby, I'm not going anywhere" Seeing Ellie's struggle to get words out, Nick just sat there with patience. He trusted Ellie to talk when she's ready.  
The pair remained quiet as Ellie soaked in the warmth, her eye dropping slightly as she relaxed. Being warm and with Nick at her proximity put her mind at ease again.  
"Ellie?" Nick prompted softly, not wanting to startle his girlfriend, "You wanna get out of the bath and into the bed?"  
Ellie looked up at Nick like a deer caught in the headlights upon hearing his voice. She was so lost in her thoughts.  
Nick sighed, wanting nothing more but his girlfriend opening up to him right now so he could help. But he knew it could be hard for Ellie to say what's bothering her out loud, so he would wait.  
"Come on, the water's getting cold" Nick tugged at Ellie's hand, carefully pulling her up.  
Letting go of her hand, Nick turned and reached to retrieve a towel to wrap Ellie up, he missed how Ellie bit down on her lip just to keep herself from whimpering at the lost of Nick's hand holding hers.  
Wrapping the towel tight around Ellie, Nick reached for another so he could help her pat-dry her hair.  
"Wait for me on the bed. I'm gonna go get you some clothes, that okay for you?"  
"Nick? Can I have your hoodie please?" Ellie asked with a small voice, biting her lips in a nervous manner.  
"Of course" Nick smiled softly, hand going up to ruffle Ellie's half dry hair. 

Ellie was staring at her feet, lost in her thoughts again, when Nick came back with a hoodie and a pair of sweat pants.  
"Baby?" Nick placed the clothing on the bed and knelt down before Ellie, one hand gently placed onto her knee.  
Ellie looked up with wide, red-rimmed eyes. The hollowness in her eyes once again pained Nick.  
"You want some tea or hot chocolate? I can go make you some while you get changed" Nick offered, not sure what else he could do for Ellie. He's still waiting for her to open up.  
Ellie shook her head slightly, a hand moved to grip onto Nick's on her knee.  
"Okay. I'm not going anywhere" Nick reassured her again, picking up her hand to kiss the back of it.  
Ellie remained silent the whole time while Nick helped her get dressed. Once she's in Nick's clothes, she snuggled deep into the big hoodie and inhaled deeply, burying half her face into the collar.  
Nick smiled fondly at Ellie's cute gesture, moving them around so they were cuddling on the bed with Ellie's head resting over his chest.  
One hand gently stroking Ellie's hair, Nick wrapped his free arm around her back protectively and pulled her close to him.  
Ellie sighed, feeling herself finally starting to relax, and she couldn't stop the wave of emotion rushing over her anymore.  
It started with tears gathering in her eyes, then a few started to slide down her face, soaking Nick's shirt.  
"Ellie?" Nick asked when he felt the material of his shirt dampening. Looking down, he saw Ellie weeping silently, "What's wrong baby?"  
Ellie didn't say a word, just buried her face deeper into Nick's chest. The floodgate was opened and the dam's breaking.  
"It's okay baby, I got you" Nick's heart constricted achingly as he held Ellie tighter against him, "Just let it all out"  
Nick kept murmuring sweet nothing into Ellie's ear, reassuring her that they're both safe and he's right here.  
After a while, Ellie's crying started to slow down, and turned into occasional sniffles.  
"Feeling better?" Nick asked gently, a hand going up to Ellie's cheek and wiping away a stray tear.  
Ellie nodded, letting out a breath as she relaxed against Nick.  
"I guess I need to tell you what happened" Ellie whispered after a moment, voice rough with all the crying.  
"I would like to know, but only if you ready to tell okay?" Nick said while dipping his head to kiss Ellie's forehead.  
"Um I had this nightmare" Ellie started timidly, "I woke up screaming and I needed to see you. Didn't even realize it was raining outside"  
"I'm here babe" Nick rubbed Ellie's back comfortingly with reassurance, "You wanna tell me what was this dream about?"  
"I uh..." Ellie shuttered, closing her eyes as the image of the nightmare flashed before her eyes, "I lost you. We're made during an undercover mission and uh they got you. They tortured you with me tied to a chair and made me watch" Ellie voice broke again at the end of her sentence.  
"Baby, it's all just a dream" Nick tilted Ellie's chin up, causing her to open her eyes and look at him.  
"It felt so real, Nick. I needed to know, to make sure you're okay"  
"But I'm here, right in front of you, alive and well"  
To drive his point home, Nick picked up Ellie's hand and placed it onto his chest, "You feel that?"  
Ellie nodded, pressing her hand down and feeling Nick's strong steady heartbeat underneath.  
For the first time of this night, Ellie was finally feeling at ease, like she’s at home.

"Nick, I can't lose you"  
"Me neither baby, we’ll be okay"  
"Please don’t let me go"  
"Never"

— Hold me, hold me in your arms.. hold me, holding my hand. Hold me, hold me to my word.. hold me, hold me as if you were my stan


End file.
